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hispanic heritage
Los Angeles Collegian — Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Hispanic heritage month Photo by Tomas Rodriguez/Collegian
facts • The Hispanic population in the United States is projected to reach 128.8 million by 2060. Therefore, the Hispanic community will constitute 31 percent of the nation’s population by that date. • In 2010, nearly 54 million Hispanics were living in the U.S., with this number the U.S. has the second highest population of Hispanic peoples, right behind Mexico with 120 million. • Approximately 1.2 million Hispanics 18 and older are veterans of the U.S. armed forces. • In 2010 the number of Hispanic peoples living in California increased to 14 million, up from 10 million in 2000.
Rogelio Chavez considers LACC his home. He has been teaching at the campus for five years and enjoys working alongside his first professor from CSUN, Carlos Guerrero.
Professor Driven by Push To Education As a child, one LACC professor remembers the sacrifice his parents made to further his education. It started in primary school and continued in secondary school, and it eventually took him all the way to a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. Tomas Rodriguez
R
ogelio Garcia is a first generation Mexican-American, but he prefers the term “Chicano.” His parents were both from Mexico, but he still maintains a great pride for his heritage, and it is a driving force in his life. Garcia teaches political science at Los Angeles Community College. Just like another professor, Jaime Soto, he comes from a community college background, but the two have more in common than just an educational success. They said their parents were big motivators for their educational success. “My parents definitely encouraged all of us to pursue higher education. For them that was the number one priority,” Garcia said. “My parents had limited college education so they couldn’t help in so many ways, but they made it very clear that education is important.” Despite having support from his
parents, the real challenge was making it as far as college, something their family was not too familiar with. As a first generation of Mexican-Americans, their goal was simple. If you achieve success in education then you must continue to do the same for the following year. “College was an idea, but it really wasn’t a goal,” Garcia said. “It was always ‘do good in school’ and what that usually meant was do good in the grade you are in right now. Do good in the first grade. Do good in the second grade, third and fourth grade. And if you’re done, do good in middle school then do good in high school.” College was an abstract notion, because nobody in his family had ever gone to college. Some first generation students can find it challenging. “[College] was always this thing that we saw in the movies and television,” Garcia said. “It was a place for white people.” The idea for college to be a goal
was present, but it wasn’t a reality until his older brother became the first in the family to reach college. After that it was more than a goal. It became part of the daily agenda to fully prosper and realize the American dream. However, Garcia is one of many Hispanics who have succeeded through hard work and dedication. He got his bachelor’s and master’s degree at CSUN. “[CSUN] was the birthplace of Chicano studies so I had the privilege of taking classes with civil rights leaders,” Garcia said. “You read them in history books, but these people are actually teaching it in the class. We had Rodolfo Acuña, who wrote the book of Chicano history, people who were actually in the struggle.” Garcia learned from the best. The perceptions he had from living figures teaching face to face inspired him. Nevertheless, to Garcia, having a full-time Chicano instructor at LACC, was more than just a coincidence. People didn’t just ask for Chi-
We do not always see eye to eye. [Hispanics] are so diverse. We are conservatives and liberals.” —Jaime Soto
Photo by Dave Martin/Collegian
Reneé D. Martinez is the first Hispanic president for LACC. Martinez previously spent 12 years as Vice President of Workforce Education and Economic Development at East Los Angeles College and has been an executive board member for the last six years at Beverly Hospital in Montebello.
Heritage Drives President to Succeed By Ambar Quintanilla and Jason Piskopus Reneé D. Martinez is more than experienced when it comes to hard work and dedication. As a recipient of multiple prestigious awards, such as the Mexican-American Alumni Award and the National Headstart Latino Leadership, recognition is the fruit of Martinez’s labor. This fruit has led her to the president’s office at Los Angeles City College. Raised in a large Mexican-American family, she learned the importance of work ethic, education and cultural pride. Steeped with tradition her childhood home was not just a place to rest her head at night. It is also where she learned the traditional Mexican customs, from making fresh tortillas with her grandmother to decorating for the annual Day of the Dead celebration. “All the things I learned growing up, enriched my creativity,” Martinez said. “Being Hispanic has enriched my life and empowered me to become a President.” Martinez says her heritage has not hindered her professional achievements and goals. She says every person must have a secure foundation, especially those who struggle to reach their dreams and lack aspirations because they see themselves as minorities. Martinez is LACC’s first female Hispanic president. “Find people who have the same vision and those are the people you want to cultivate in your life,” Martinez said. “Those are the people that are going to help you.” Martinez is proud to be Hispanic. She says it means that she comes from a wealth of historical and wonderful experiences that have influenced society until this day, and that in Southern California, Hispanic culture can be found everywhere. For example, many of the city’s churches were built with traditional Hispanic architecture. Martinez’s family relied on each other for support and motivation, teaching her that friends and family are essential to achieving your goals. Martinez says, when money was tight and resources were short their family worked together and learned from their mistakes along the way. “When I was young, I did not see myself in this role, no,” Martinez said. “But, people in my life encouraged me.”
cano Studies classes, it became part of the course offerings thanks to the daily struggles and perseverance of Chicano leaders. “That didn’t just happen because people out of the ordinary decide to give them a discipline,” Garcia said. “No, that happened out of struggle and sacrifice. People died and went to jail so that future generations could enjoy the same freedoms as everyone else.” It is a constant reminder that encourages Garcia to do what he does. At CSUN he met current LACC Chicano Studies professor, Carlos Guerrero. They both teach alongside each other and it’s a reminder of where Garcia started. His message is clear to first-generation students. In order to succeed, you have to at least try. “You have to find your way,” Garcia said. “After that it gets easier, you realize that wasn’t hard at all. But once you do it, you can share that with other people and encourage them. It makes all the difference and we take that for granted.”
Photo by Tomas Rodriguez/Collegian
Professor Jaime Soto teaches a history course on the social history of the United States. Despite working as a Council Member for the City of San Fernando, Soto teaches at LACC and credits the community college system for helping him succeed through higher education.
Community College Helped Professor Prosper in Life iar with. He attended Valley College. construction worker and in 1969 he My dad was Even though he is a professor now, opened a restaurant business.” Soto admits that he still learns as an “Panchitos” was the name of their a bracero, instructor. Mexican restaurant; they served all he came here with “I have to credit the community types of Mexican cuisine. His father college, Soto said. “I evolved as a did not become a millionaire, but he nothing,” —Jaime Soto student” and even though I teach, I flourished working in the valley. By Tomas Rodriguez
Professor Jaime Soto has Mexican bloodlines, but takes pride in being an American. He thanks the California Community College system for the progress he made in education that allowed him later to become a City Councilmember for the City of San Fernando. Soto teaches History at Los Angeles City College, a system he is famil-
still learn more every day.” Being a first-generation American, Soto acknowledges the challenges and triumphs of the American dream. He grew up working in the restaurant business with his father who worked hard to get his family ahead. “My dad was a bracero, he came here with nothing,” Soto said. “He was a farm picker by Mission Hills for a long time. “He lived the American dream, he worked as a baker,
The entire family pitched in to help “Panchitos” prosper. Everyone contributed and Soto and his five siblings made it through college. Soto’s parents were a big influence on him growing up. If his parents dedicated their lives to him and his siblings, then he was ready to excel in education. Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales, a Chicano boxer, activist and poet from Denver, Colorado, also inspired Soto.
Gonzales was a crucial part of the Chicano cause and its advancement in America. “Corky Gonzales was so important to Chicanos,” Soto said. “He forged alliances with the Black Panther Party and he wrote ‘I am Joaquin.’” The poem is about the many social injustices faced by Chicanos in the U.S., which united them in the fight for equality. Gonzales did not only work with Chicanos, but his relationship with the Black Panthers proved that alliances between black and brown power were fighting for the same causes. As a councilman for the City of San Fernando, Soto today believes that he fights for the people within the community. He says he stays away from private interest groups because he wants the best for his people. In the United States, there have been many Hispanics who have helped make it easier for the succeeding generations. The difference they made decades ago, are reason why so many Latinos are thriving in this country. Soto believes every Latino is crucial to the Hispanic movement. “We do not always see eye to eye. [Hispanics] are so diverse. We are conservatives and liberals,” Soto said. “We are a community. We are a torch. We hand it off to each other to so we can maximize our potential.”